Janne Torkkola's activity stream

Land clearing of Queensland’s woodlands and forests is out of control again. A new government report shows an area the size of 550,000 soccer pitches was cleared in just one year in Queensland. Every second in Queensland, a tree is bulldozed and a native animal dies as a consequence of land clearing. This has to stop. But we need your help to make this happen.

Take these 4 actions to bring an end to out of control land clearing in Queensland:

1. Add Your Voice to QCC’s letter to our political leaders calling for stronger action on land clearing

2. Sign The Pledge to spread the word and have 5 conversations with friends, family, and colleagues

3. Donateand help us make the fight to protect native habitats bigger and stronger

Over the last five years, more than one million hectares of native forests and bushland has been cleared in Queensland. Queensland is the land clearing capital of Australia. Our current clearing levels lock in continued widespread devastation to wildlife and the habitats they depend on.

This clearing has destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of koala habitat, as well as the habitat of hundreds of other species. Clearing is the primary cause of significant declines in koala populations in several parts of Queensland. In addition, tree clearing and deforestation is a direct contributor to dangerous climate change as landscapes devoid of vegetation no longer store carbon from the atmosphere.

This clearing crisis has come about through changes to Queensland's land clearing legislation in 2012-2015 under the Newman LNP Government. These changes dramatically weakened the legislation protecting habitat across Queensland and has led to a unprecedented rise in clearing rates.

An area the size of the Gabba stadium is now bulldozed every three minutes in Queensland.

With the upcoming state election in mind, QCC along with an alliance of other organisations, is asking all political parties to end the destruction of habitats by strengthening our land clearing laws by committing to 7 Key Priorities to Reduce Tree Clearing:

7 Key Priorities to Reduce Tree Clearing

1. Permanent protection for all old-growth native woodlands and forests

2. Permanent protection of all other high conservation value native woodlands and forests

3. Removal of ‘Self-Assessable Codes’ for land clearing

4. Strong monitoring and resourcing for the enforcement of land clearing laws

5. Improved mapping for vegetation and a halt to exemptions via property maps

6. Establishment of a substantial ecological carbon fund and support for restoration opportunities